Ron in love
by LolaLines
Summary: In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Ron realizes that he is madly in love with Hermione. But can he tell her? And why is she always working that much, anyway? Better story than summary, please R&R ! .


_A HermionexRon fanfiction. Set during fifth year,_

_( Please be nice cause it's my very first fanfiction. And I must tell you that I'm not a native-speaker, so all apologizes for the mistakes I will do. xD. Would you please point out the mistakes you notice?? It would certainly help me !_

**Ron in love.**

June was coming, with, like every years, its batch of revisions for the whole school, especially fifth and seventh-years, because of the OWLs and NEWTs. Ron was spending more time grumbling about how the final tests were exhausting and , according to him, utterly useless ("Bloody hell! Who cares about the names of Jupiter's moons, anyway ?!") than truly working and revising the way he should have done.

As for Hermione, she was so nervous and strung-up about her own OWLs that she didn't even think about reprimanding Ron and making him work.

Regarding Harry, he was was trying his hardest to concil quidditch trainings with his revisions, and he had hardly time for anything else.

One night, the three of them stayed in the common room for a long time, rather after the others Gryffindors had gone to bed. At midnight, finally, Harry decided that it was high time for him to go to bed. After wishing "good night" to Ron and Hermione ("Good night, Harry", "'night mate..."), he left the room, yawning and sighing, leaving his two best friends alone; they were installed on a sofa, right in front of the fireplace , where a great fire was still roaring.

Hermione was sitting cross-legged, on the right side of the sofa. She was reading a huge and dusty book, put on her lap; most of the pages were full of notes by her hand. Ron was lying on the sofa, his long legs hanging over the fleece-lined arm-rest. He was holding an handwritten sheet of paper above his face; eyebrowns frowned, he seemed desperately trying to understand what was explained on it, silently whispering as he read it.

With another deep sigh, Ron let his arms fall down on his face, covering both eyes and mouth. He moaned a muffled sentence, which sounded quite like "'tsuks". Hermione didn't even react and kept reading her oversized book.

They stayed silent for a while, and then, Ron put his arms off his face and broke the silence.

-'Mione? He asked in a low voice.

She dind't answer.

-Hermione? He repeated a little bit louder.

But once again, silence was his only answer. Teased by this frustrating absence of words, he slowly turned toward his friend, putting his legs off the arm-rest, and kneeling on the sofa, right next to her.

Her face was hidden by her bushy hair. Ron hesitated for what seemed ages, before he finally bent over, and, with a slightly shaking hand, gently put away a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand brushed against her cheek, and this touch sent a shiver down his spine. Her skin was soft and heat.

He had always wondered how she could managed to see something through her incredibly invasive hair; he grinned as he saw she had fallen asleep, reading a book which was, in Ron's opinion, "just the most bloody boring book that has ever existed!". Looking at this "meaningless thing", he remembered what people often told him about Hermione :"How can you put up with her behaviour? She's so annoying!" But Ron dind't think the same.

As far as he was concerned, Herrmione was just the most amazing witch he had ever met. She was incredibly wise and gifted. Even if he called her " a know-it-all", three times a week, he was always ready to kick ass to everyone who dared to say that she was a "crawler".

The firts time he saw her, yet, he thought she was just one of those boring students who spent all time working and reading and working again, and didn't even know the meaning of the word "fun", and who were, above all, afraid to break the rules- someone just like his brother Percy, after all.

And that was excactly waht she was at first, in the begining of their first year. But, strangely, he came to know her better, and even appreciate her compagny. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Harry and he fought and defeated a troll on Halloween, saving Hermione from a certain death.

Anyway, as time went by, Ron put up better with her love for books, school and studies, and she even surprised him in their second year, when she came up with the idea of the Polyjuice Potion, and broke around fifty school rules-what his prat Head boy brother could'nt have done.

In their third year, he could'nt recall all the arguments they had, because they were way too numerous. But he was almost ready to forget it all, when this stupid Krum came to school. And then, he took her Hermione to the Yule ball, but who the hell did he think he was? Sure he is the youngest and most famous quidditch player of all times, but his does'nt give him the right to go out with Hermione !

At that time, Ron started to wonder about what he felt for her, if those strange feelings in his mind were allright, if it was okay to feel something like that for his best friend. Months after months, he saw her becoming more and more beautiful on his opinion, but even if Krum was gone back to his whatever-the-name school in his sodding country, he sometimes felt like he was still in her mind.

And finally, they started their fifth year at Hogwarts, and he had to face the incredible evidence: Ron was just deeply, truly and madly in love with Hermione. After spending months wondering about how the hell it could have happened, and ultimately finding no answer,he decided to keep those feelings locked and hidden somewhere deep in his heart, and no to let them out and destroy his relationship with Hermione.

But he rapidly came to realize that it was the hardest thing to do : everytime he saw her face, her smile, everytime he heard her laughing or watched her working hard –which was tipycally Hermione, he couldn't help feeling a wave of affection for the girl he had lived with for now about five years. But he always managed not to let show anything at all.

He hadn't been alone with her for ages, and now, just right now,she was asleep next to him, in an unusually empty common room.

Was it a kind of sign?

"Anyway, if you ever had a chance, mate, this is it !" Ron told himself. At first, he thought about trying to kiss her while she was asleep. But all of a sudden, he remembered a conversation he had overheard between Fred and George, some weeks ago. Fred was talking about how he had just tried to kiss Angelina while she was asleep in the changing room, before a quidditch match. All he had won was a noisy slap on his face,as she had suddenly woke up.

Not very anxious to be slap on his face, Ron thought it would be much wiser to wake up Hermione first of all. He wasn't pretty sure about what was the right thing to do, but anyway, he couldn't just let her sleep on this sofa all night !

That's why he slowly waved his right hand in front of her face, but nothing happened. Frowning, he went on, and whispered her name several times, until she finally oppned her eyes; she seemed quite lost, as if she didn't recall where she was.

She turned toward his friend, and gave him a dazed look as he grinned at her. She then glanced at the old book put on her lap, and she remebered why she was stiil in the common room at one in the morning.

"'Mione, ya look kinda whashed out. What 'bout going to sleep? Ron asked softly; even if he wanted her to say with him, he couldn't stand to see her so tired out.

-No...No thanks Ron, I'm fine. I'm okay, she replied, in an exhausted voice. You see, I've got to read this book for tomorow, and there's still 150 pages I've not read yet and..So...No I can't go to bed now", she added. But she clearly seemed wanting anything more than to go to her warm bed.

Ron stared at her for a while, saying nothing, but trying to make her understand that it wasn't worthwhile at all to go on reading that book _now_.

She oddly seemed to get it; she shook her head, and muttered:

"Okay, you'won, I'm giving up for tonight.. You're right." She stared at the fire, and Ron couldn't help but notice she was close to tears. She even seemed so sad at that moment that Ron felt his heart breaking, and must stop himself from holding her tight in his arms.

-Hermione, he said softly, don't you think ya...er...ya're working too much and too hard?

-What? She asked. What are you talking about? I'm not working enough! I still have this book to read, and I also have to write up three rolls of parchment for Transfiguration lesson, and read again my notes of History of Magic and ..

-Hermione! Ron cut her off firmly. Ya need to get some rest, okay? How long has it been since you've got a full night sleeping?

-I don't really know, she replied vaguely. Two weeks ...Maybe more..

-What? Are you serious? 'Mione, ya _really _have to sleep, don't you think so?

-Yeah, of course I know it Ron, I'm not silly...But it's just...I just can't you see? Her voice was getting more and more irritated, almost hysterical. I have to pass my OWLs, okay! You get it?

-And of course you will pass it Hermione! Ron replied, nearly yelling to cover the sound of her voice. Everyone knows that ya're the most brilliant student of the whole school. You're gonna pass you OWLs without any problems! You will, he concluded categorically.

-And what if I don't...? She muttered shyly.

-Sorry? He asked, a little stunned, thinking he had just misunderstood.

-Yeah, what if I fail? she went on, looking anywhere but at Ron. What if I can't make it? What if...she hesitated, What if I'm not the best...?" she finished in a whisper.

Ron stayed silent for some seconds, dazed.

"That's really what ya're afraid of, Hermione?"

She nodded, but didn't anwser. Ron slightly sighed, and gently took her hands in his, but she didn't make any move, and kept lokking at the fire. Ron squeezed her hands and whispered :

"Hermione...Hey...Please 'Mione, look at me...Yeah, that's it, he grinned slightly as she at least faced him, seeming shattered. Why is being the best so important for you?

-Well...you see, she started hesitantly. My parents...They are muggles, I didn't know anything about magic until I got my letter from Hogwarts and...You know, people think that...That if you are a muggle born, you're not a good wizard or witch and...They think that if your parents are not wizards, you dare not worthing to be a wizard youreslf...and...Well, I just wanted to prove them all that they're wrong...She added, a tear rolling down her cheek.

-Hermione, Ron said, as he couldn't believe his ears. You've got nothing to prove, okay? Neither to Malfoy and his rubbish about Purebloods and Mudbloods, it doesn't mean anythin' at all...He was trying to find the best words to comfort her, but had never been gifted for that kind of "girlish stuffs".

-Don't ya remember what Hagrid told us three years ago? Nobody has ever invented a spell that you cannot do. Okay? Those who said that you're a Mudblood are just stupid and jealous about ya. No one is more brilliant than you, Hermione. Noone. It doesn't even matter where you come from. Look at me, I'm from a whole wizard family, and that absolutely doesn't make me an expert in magic, you see?

She had looked at him since he had begun to speak, her eyes still teary. Her lower lip trembled,and without any notice, she trhew her arms around Ron's neck,and gripped the back of his sweater.

Astonished, Ron clasped her to his chest, shyly patting her on the back, and muttering "It's okay, Hermione, it's allright", as she was sobbing on his shoulder. He couldn't believ it. She was so close to him that he could feel each one of her shiver, each one of her sob. He went on comforting him the best he could, still stroking her back.

After some seconds,he felt something like a fence yielding somewhere in his mind, in his heart. He then spoke as if he had always known excactly what he was going to say, just like a speech he had thought about for months.

"It doesn't matter what people think, Hermione. Ya're the most amazing witch I have ever met, and I can't imagine what life could be without you."

She slowly stopped crying as she was paying a close attention to Ron,and didn't made a move.

Ron went on, feeling neither fear nor doubt about what to say:

"And I want you to know that I won't let anyone hurt you,okay? I don't wanna see you suffering, you see? I don't wanna ya to feel pain. I won't allow anyone to insult ya. And I...I will protect you Hermione."

He found himself unable to say that he loved her, but he just felt that it was okay, anyway. He only needed to tell her that he was there.

"I'm there for you,'Mione, okay?Because...Because I'm yer friend. And I will never let you down. Never. Get it? You mean too much to me."

Hermione had completely stopped crying now, and she softly freed herself from his hug, so that she could face him, her arms still around his neck. Her cheeks were red, and tears that had fallen from her reddened eyes had left dirty tracks on her face, but she was grining. Ron had never thought she was as beautiful as now.

But he suddenly realized what he had just said. It now seemed very awkward. He was terribly embarrassed and was waiting for Hermione to say something. Anything. He couldn't take his eyes off hers, and they looked at each other for several minutes, until Hermione finally said:

"Thank you Ron. And her eyes conveyed how she was truly grateful.

-Ya're welcome, he answered smiling at her.

Hermione quickly rubbed the remaining tears from her eyes with her sleeve, taking her arms off of Ron. Ron took her free hand and asked :

"Ya 're gonna be okay?

-Yeah, yeah, thanks, she answered. Thanks you for everything, Ron."

He smiled and, as he couldn't help it anymore, he tenderly kissed her forehead. She looked a little bit surprised, but grinned and, in turn, she softly kissed his cheek, making him turn red. She stood up and said "Good night, Ron.", and then went to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory.

Left alone on the sofa, still amazed by the kiss she had just given him, Ron smiled, absent-mindedly staring at the stairs she had just left.

No doubt about it. He was in love with her.


End file.
